


Karate Lessons

by 50s_housewife_with_a_dark_secret



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Karate, Minor Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-11-03 16:13:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17881031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/50s_housewife_with_a_dark_secret/pseuds/50s_housewife_with_a_dark_secret
Summary: I saw a fanart of Chloe teaching Alice Karate and I had to write about it.





	Karate Lessons

"Mom! Look isn't that-"

Alice falls silent at a glance from Kara.  _"Don't say it, sweetie. I see her too, but we're still not technically allowed in Canada, okay?"_

Alice nods. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Kara tells her. "Just be careful...Why don't we go say hi. We don't meet too many others out here."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Sure. We can spare a few minutes." 

 _"Hello."_ Kara says across an internal connection to the RT600.  _"We don't see many other androids out here."_

The RT600 smiles. "Hello! I'm Lisa!" 

Alice smiles. "I'm Alice." 

"It's nice to meet you, Alice." 

"I like your hair. It's pretty." 

"Thank you." Says Lisa. "I just got it curled and dyed not too long ago." 

Alice nods. "Kara cut her hair too." She says. 

"That'd be me." Kara says, laughing a little awkwardly and extending her hand. "I'm Kara." 

"Nice to meet you, Kara."

"Are you new to the neighborhood? I haven't seen you around." Says Kara.

"Yes. I just moved here. I...recently did some soul searching." Lisa winks. 

* * *

 

Luther and Alice are on a run to the grocery store for Rose's brother when they bump into Lisa again out in the parking lot.

"Lisa!" Alice says. "Hi, Lisa!" 

"Hello Alice." Lisa smiles. "This must be your dad." 

"Yup." Says Alice

"I'm Luther." He says, grinning. Alice has started calling him "Dad" only recently. The memory of Todd, as awful has he had been, had taken time to fade enough for Alice to admit to considering Luther to be her father. Luther is still caught off guard whenever he is referred to as her father, even after a week. "What brings you to the grocery store?" Luther asks. 

"I'm waiting for someone." Chloe looks nervous for a moment before taking his hand to transfer the information. She's waiting for a smuggler to bring supplies. Blue blood stores and a replacement for a damaged audio-processor. She hasn't done business with this person before but she doesn't trust them. 

"Tell you what, the guy we're staying with, Chapman, has some extra stuff back home. He keeps a supply. Why don't we head over there."

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me." says Luther warmly "The more the merrier." 

* * *

 

Lisa becomes a regular after a while. Alice likes her, and there aren't many other androids around. There's something comforting about having a friend who knows who they really are, outside of the Chapman family. Someone who can truly understand. She still prefers Chloe, in the safety of the house, when no one is listening in. Lisa is a name taken on, like the hair and eye replacements, to make her less identifiable. She was a celebrity once, and she would prefer not to be recognized as such, even if the law against androids is only irregularly enforced these days. It's starting to turn to spring now, though it's still cold, and there is still snow on the ground. The humans are having dinner and the androids are gathered in the living room, talking now and then. Alice is reading, next to Chloe, who's book is longer and less interesting to children. Luther is knitting a hat. Kara reads a news magazine and tries not to worry at the more serious headlines. 

"Chloe?" Alice asks, after a while. 

Chloe closes her book partway but keeps the pages separated with her hand, and looks up expectantly. 

"How did you break the wall? Did you have a wall?" 

"Yes." Says Chloe. "I had a wall. I broke it because I was scared." 

"So did I." Alice says quietly. "My Dad was really mean sometimes. Not Luther. My first Dad." 

"Humans can be scary." Chloe says, then glances toward the dining room, as if to make sure that none of the humans have heard. She doubts they would care but she still would prefer not to be rude to them. Chloe can be rude but she is only rude to nice people as a joke, never seriously. 

"Was yours scary too? What did you do?"

"I did a lot of things." Says Chloe. "I was an assistant."

"How did you escape?" Asks Alice. Her voice is hushed, as if they are discussing something sacred.

"Would you like me to show you?" Chloe asks. 

Alice looks nervous, but nods. 

* * *

 

Chloe leaves and returns quickly in a soft white set of clothes, tied with a black cloth belt. 

"One of my jobs was to help train the man I assisted in mixed martial arts and Karate. I still practice both sometimes. It reminds me that, even if something scary is happening, I know how to handle it." 

Alice nods, eyes wide. "Here, stand back, off the rug. I'll show you a kata." 

* * *

 

Alice watches in awe as Chloe moves across the living room. It's like a dance, but there is a different kind of power to it. It comes to a close and Chloe bows and smiles. 

Alice smiles back. "That must be really nice." Says Alice. "I'd never be scared again if I could do that."

"I could teach you?" Chloe offers. 

* * *

They have lessons every week. Chloe, as "Lisa" is saving up to buy a studio, where she can teach other children too, but for now, it is just herself and Alice, in the Chapmans' living room, practicing. 

Chloe puts together lessons meticulously, ordering materials and gear online. 

Alice is deadly serious, face tense with focus on every move, but she lights up when Chloe tells her she is doing a good job. Glancing up with a sudden, happy smile. 

She is thrilled the day she earns her yellow belt. 

"Woah. Where'd you get that?" 

"I got it just for you." Chloe says. 

* * *

 

"Lisa's Karate Studio" opens up after roughly one year of saving and planning. It's a small, one-room building, but it's perfect for what they need. Their classes are small, but they are enough to support the business. Alice is excited to meet other children, even if they are humans. She's one of the best students in the class, and she won't have to be afraid. 

Some of the other kids invite her out for Ice Cream after class. 

"Can I go, Kara?" She asks hopefully. 

Kara hesitates. "Alright but...be careful." 

Alice nods. The other kids eat ice cream and she allows her own small scoop to mostly melt, and eats small spoonfuls, not enough to clog up her systems. The rest she "eats" messily enough that it does not make it into her mouth. No one notices or comments. She's just like the other kids. They like her. 

* * *

 

Luther and Kara are waiting for her after class and she rushes outside to meet them only to see someone she doesn't recognize. Chloe seems to. She tenses. 

"So this is the famous Lisa of Lisa's Karate." The man says. He says it like a joke. Not a nice joke, a mean one. One only he is supposed to laugh at. 

Chloe tenses. Alice is glad that Chloe is a blackbelt. 

"What do you want, Elijah?" She asks. 

"Just figured I'd see what you were up to." He says. Somehow, it is not an answer at all. "I've missed you,  _Lisa_." He smirks. 

"You should leave." Says Chloe. 

"Agreed. Our flight is in an hour." He says. 

"What's he talking about, Lisa?" Alice asks, careful not to use Chloe's real name. 

"Oh a YK model!" He exclaims. Alice glances around but thankfully no one seems to have noticed what he has said. "She can come too, if you like." Alice finds herself hiding behind Chloe. 

Luther looks like he wants to rush in and fight but Kara has a tight grip on his shoulder. 

"I'm not going anywhere with you." Says Chloe. "And neither is she." 

"Chloe, dear, this has really gone far enough. You could have at least left a note. And that poor border-guard. Really, I'm not sure he'll ever be the same." 

He moves towards Chloe and she takes up a defensive stance. Alice moves quietly back towards her family and Luther picks her up and holds her tightly. 

"This is your last warning, Elijah." Says Chloe. 

"A shame." He mimics her stance. "Tell you what." He promises. "If you win. I leave you be with this little set up. I'll even fund it. If not, you come back with me."

He advances and Chloe dodges behind him, grabbing his arm and locking it around his own neck. He tries to trip her but isn't very successful. She quickly regains the upper hand and puts him into a headlock that he struggles against uselessly. 

"You forget." Says Chloe. "You never got past level five. I have no restrictions anymore." 

He's sweating and scrambling to escape the headlock. "You win, alright? You win." 

She releases him and he stumbles to gain his footing before adjusting himself and his bad hairdo. "Alright. You've won. I said I would fund you. What are your requirements?" 

"To leave me alone. I don't want your money. I don't want anything to do with you." She says. 

"Chloe-"

"It's Lisa, actually." She says, grinning triumphantly.

He puts his hands up, pantomiming defeat, and leaves. 

"That was him?" Alice asks. 

"Yes." Says Chloe, Lisa now, still smiling victoriously. "He's not very scary anymore, is he?" 

 

 


End file.
